Every team in every sport seems to have at least one player who does all the dirty work, but rarely gets much notoriety. Fittingly or not, the acronym for the Most Underrated Player is MUP. Even sounds like a designated tag with little respect. Underrated players are part of every professional basketball team. We want to show a little love to those players who seem to play under-the-radar, never getting much press time. Here is our take on the most underrated player on every NBA roster. Atlanta Hawks – The Hawks are young, so there isn’t a long game history for much of their roster. One player who has a very long history is Vince Carter. The savvy veteran has stepped in to start eight games thus far, and undoubtedly adds a voice of experience to the Atlanta locker room. Boston Celtics – There are three players who fit the mold as underrated for Boston. Aron Baynes and Terry Rozier don’t get the same limelight as the Celtic superstars. But, when there’s a scramble for a loose ball, you may well find #36 at the bottom. Marcus Smart is actually second on the team in dimes as well, and…

DraftKings NBA Strategy Tips Like the NFL, successful daily fantasy sports players benefit from research. It is the one common thread that is the same no matter what sport you’re playing. However, hitting winners in NBA contests may benefit the most from solid research. Here are some reasons why this is true. Just like baseball and football daily fantasy lineups, NBA DFS choices must include low-budget sleepers. Getting players who project for high point production revolves around high pace games with the potential for a lot of points. Here are couple additional tips to give you an edge when setting your daily NBA lineups. Low-Budget Sleepers The lower cost players who may have high point ceilings in other sports are important. But, this same idea when applied to your NBA DFS lineups can balloon your final point total. One reason for this is the fact, when you save on a sleeper, you can add multiple high-point producers. Study the Game Line In football and baseball, watching the over and under numbers can help you make final decisions between one or more players at any given position. Watching the projected final point total for NBA games can give you strategic insight…

New Lowest Score Dropped Rule In an effort to combat late scratches and foul trouble, FanDuel issued a rule where the lowest scoring player of your lineup is dropped. This is the first time we have seen anything like this in the industry, and opinions have been split about it. This also throws a wrench into strategy, where you can simply take a punt trying to jam in higher priced players, or take a chance on a lower owned questionable player. There are a lot of ways to view this, but when Derrick Rose is a late scratch after lock, your night will not over immediately like when they had no late swap or this new rule. Of course there is a sliding scale on how bad it can hurt you. Anthony Davis being dropped from your lineup is a lot different from Danny Green. FanDuel Adopts Higher Scoring When season long fantasy leagues dropped their new scoring change to bump up blocks and steals to three points each, FanDuel did as well. This certainly changed the aspect of fantasy basketball, as a Hassan Whiteside would have more weight on a site like FanDuel with his ability to rack up…

Placing a bet on an NBA basketball game can add an element of excitement to the game. With the gradual changes in law being made on a state-by-state level across the United States, there are locations where you can place these bets legally. Sports fans who reside in New Jersey, can place online bets legally on all types of sporting contests. According to the Department of Gaming Enforcement in New Jersey, DraftKings Sportsbook & FanDuel Sportsbook are the two sports betting leaders in the space. The number of legal betting venues is expected to grow in the future. Of course, while wagering on a game is exciting, the idea is to hopefully win more money than you lose. Below are a series of suggestions to help you to better enjoy your experience of betting on NBA basketball. We’ve included an initial section on managing your finances, an explanation of a few different types of bets, followed by some strategy tips to help improve your chances of winning. What is Bankroll Management? Your bankroll refers to the money you deposit in your account to place bets on sports games. You may choose to focus your attention specifically on NBA basketball games,…

Under The Radar Forwards That Fantasy Basketball Team Owners Should Keep An Eye On The NBA season has officially gotten started, and there have already been many exciting story lines so far. One of the top story lines in the early part of the NBA season is the offensive surge around the league. Teams are scoring at a higher rate than ever before, thanks to the pace and space league wide philosophy. This is an exciting development for fantasy basketball owners, as each team now has multiple high upside options. With that being said, here is a look at some waiver wire pickups to consider adding to your team. Dorian Finney-Smith, Dallas Mavericks Finney-Smith is an athletic wing player who has shown a lot of potential in his first two years in Dallas. However, Finney-Smith’s jumper has been a major liability during his first two years in the league, as he shot under 40 percent along with a low three point percentage during his first two years in the league. However, Finney-Smith appears ready to become a solid NBA contributor in his 3rd year. Finney-Smith has started the year strong, shooting over 50 percent from the field, along with 41…

Boban Marjanovic The Serbian’s minutes have been ticking up recently and Marjanovic is showing what he can so with increased playing time. Marjanovic backs up Marcin Gortat, who the Clippers may look to preserve as the season progresses if they are in competition for a playoff spot. Playing 22 minutes in his last game, Marjanovic went for 15 points and 11 rebounds. Where Boban can really contribute is in blocks. Marjanovic is an efficient player who does not need many minutes to make a large contribution to your team. If he can get 20 minutes a night, he is a valuable addition to your fantasy team. Mikal Bridges Bridges is a speculative add whose value to your team will increase as the season progresses. The Phoenix Suns are not very good at the game of basketball and will be playing to maximize their draft position in a loaded class. This will mean giving more minutes to Bridges, in whom the Suns have a lot of confidence. Bridges is an intelligent player who is an effective shooter. If his minutes continue to increase, his areas of value will be steals and three-point shooting. Bridges’ minutes have been increasing as he has…

Welcome to the New Fantasy Basketball Cafe. Our fantasy basketball community has been going strong for over 12 years! We recently decided to started fresh, with a new direction. Our mission is to provide quality fantasy basketball related content and help fantasy basketball owners win more in daily fantasy and season long fantasy.

It is time to break out the statistical analysis programs, the roster adjustments for each team, and the structure of gameplay with players adhering to new roles. The structure of fantasy basketball can adopt many different formats. Season-long, keeper leagues, and daily fantasy play mark the three top choices amongst fans. All share some similarities and adopt their differences to distance themselves from one another.

Season Long Fantasy Basketball

Season-long fantasy basketball mediates the ranges featured in fantasy football and fantasy baseball. Most season-long leagues will accumulate 18-23 weeks in length. The match-ups still occur on a weekly basis, with the weekly total marking your victory or defeat at the hands of your opponent. The season-long route is grueling as there are many factors for consideration in day-by-day play. Owners will sit their star player if they are dealing with a minor injury to avoid the chance of losing that player. The season-long rankings determine the playoff match-ups, which usually take up the final 2 to 3 weeks of the fantasy season. Waiver wire pick-ups and claims still occur one day out of the week, with the lower seed holding precedence for additions, unless agreed otherwise amongst the league. There is less pressure to turnout standout performances night in and night out since the scoring is cumulative for the week. This reduces the stress on the owner when one of their main contributors goes down with injury or takes the night off for rest.

The keep league format operates similar to that of the NFL keeper design. Players are slotted into positions that mark them as ineligible for drops, which also places a clause on their name to not be claimed once the season comes to a close. The keeper leagues are progression leagues, meaning they continue every year with minor additions and subtractions being added and taken from rosters. Players within keep leagues can propose trades that move them up in the lottery position for drafting free agents at the end of the year. The keeper system is more complex and teaches the participate about roster management and futuristic optimism.

Daily Fantasy Basketball

The daily fantasy world is the fastest paced game in the fantasy industry. Roster construction usually consists of 8 to 9 players, spanning the major position points on the roster. Players hand pick their lineups each night, which creates a deep variation in player usage across the league. Daily fantasy players pull out all the stops when it comes to statistical advantages. They look for slight breaks in the data as their entry point to larger payouts and a higher success rate. The fantasy world deals with 50/50 leagues, head-to-head competition, and tournament play for those life changing payouts.

At each of these three levels of play the stakes can rival the opponent in a situation that lasts one evening, the course of a week, or a season-long battle for supremacy. The big thing to keep in mind when discussing these three types is that the length of the in-game contests remains the same. So, the course of a game, all 4 quarters, will be crucial to make your mark in any of these contest types. While daily fantasy plays offers the least margin for error, the strategy adopted for player selection can be utilized in season-long and keeper formats. Each night will provide you the opportunity to play your match-ups and focus on the nightly contests. A common misconception is that keeper and season-long leagues are more laid back and don’t require as much attention to the details. In season-long and keeper leagues, you are still afforded bench players and additional role players to swap on a nightly basis. With other fantasy sports, you back your stud players with their line mates to cover your team should one go down with injury. The fantasy hoops format allows you to select more starters as the leagues can climb up to 12 participants. If you take the 30 NBA teams and adopt the fact that each team has 5 starting players, there is a pool of 150 starters to choose from on draft night. At the very least, you can roster a team of all starters due to the fact that many leagues run about 12 players deep, only eliminating 144 out of the 150 possible starting players. So, there is no need to reach for sleeper picks of bench players if you don’t have to. Some teams play great attention to the bench and back-up squads. For example, Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford, and similar player types will likely be selected on a usage basis. This is an important piece to keep in your back pocket when drafting and selecting players in all formats mentioned.

Another useful piece of information breaks down to the minutes spread a team has within their rotations. Younger guys and draft picks often have to earn their playing time, so adopting a wait-and-see approach with these players is useful. Some teams have their minutes spread on a consistent basis. Starters often see the floor anywhere from 36-40 minutes a night for teams that have limited bench support or production. Other teams will pull their star players the minute they notice cold shooting streak or limited effort on the defensive end. Going through the league’s coaching types can lend the fantasy owner useful insight into how games will play out. Some coaches will pull their guys, no matter the talent level, if they are not performing to par. Other coaches will stick with an established rotation despite struggles. Taking a brief research journey into the historical styles of coaching across the league is a useful, tidbit of information that can provide the user with an edge over the competition.

Lastly, it is important to fill your team out with the use of reliable information sources. Injury reporting and developing stories are to be watched and viewed daily. There are many different sources and outlets for up-to-the-date information spread across the internet. Following a team’s social media producer and reporter can mark for a positive outlet for relevant information. Following team streams and sites can help you round out your information collection and ensure you are not being left in the dark prior to the start of a contest. Do a little playing around with the different outlets for information that exist within the online marketplace. Most of this information is available free of charge and you can work off this information to develop or change your strategy should you discover a discrepancy.

Our Mission

Fantasy Basketball Cafe is your home to up-to-date releases surrounding the fantasy NBA world. Advice columns on player selections, introductions to roster constructions, and other useful information pieces can be found embedded within this site. Our hope is to provide the user with a simpler look at the different aspects of fantasy play and provide tips and pointers to influence their success at every level of play.